Slug casting machine



Dec. 22, 1936. A. J. STOUGES SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed June '17, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l LJ I INVENTOR an} I 7 A'TTORNEYJ.

. 22, A G S SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEYS.

Dec. 22, 1936. A J, GES 2,065,159

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JLJUULILJU INVENTO/r Patented Dec. 22, 1936 NETED STATES PATENT OFFIE SLUG CASTING MACHINE Application June 17, 1935, Serial No. 26,911 19 Claims. (01. 199-47) This invention relates to typographical slug casting machines of the general organization represented in U. S. Letters Patent No. 436,532 to O. Mergenthaler, wherein a composed line of matrices is presented momentarily to one face of a slotted mold, a metal pot brought against the opposite face of the mold, and molten metal injected by a pump from the metal pot into the mold slot or cavity to form a type bar or slug against the line of matrices.

In these machines, the molten metal is introduced into the mold by means of a spring actuated pump piston or plunger arranged within the melting pot and controlled in its action by a rotary cam which, as well known, makes one complete rotation for each cycle of operation of the machine. The cam is so shaped as normally to maintain the pump plunger in a raised position out of action, but at one point in its circumno ference it is formed with a depression which, .at

h the proper time, permits the plunger to descend more or less gradually and uniformly under the influence of its actuating spring to fill the mold with molten metal for the casting operation.

This old arrangement is entirely satisfactory and eificient for the production of slugs of ordinary sizes, say up to 18 pt. or thereabouts, but it has not been found to be so satisfactory or eflicient in machines of more recent development which provide for the production of slugs of much larger sizes extending up to 60 pt. and above. For instance, in casting slugs of these larger sizes, it frequently happens that because of imperfections many of the slugs must be recast one or more r times before one is produced which is at all suitable for use; in fact, it is seldom .attempted to make use of such slugs for high grade work or when great pressure is exerted on the slugs in taking an impression therefrom. The difficulty may be explained partly by the fact that the pump plunger fails to exert sufficient pressure upon the molten metal to drive it with the requisite force and at a sufficient rate of flow into the mold and matrix cavities. Indeed, near the completion of the casting operation the load applied to the plunger (which should be at its maximum) is at its minimum due to the lost tension or relaxation of the actuating spring at that time.

in order to overcome the foregoing difiiculty, it has been proposed to provide two springs for actuating a single plunger pump with means for rendering one or both of the springs operative as desired; or to provide an arrangement whereby the tension of a single spring or the leverage through which it acts may be varied; or to connect one end of a single spring to a movable anchorage so that the original high tension of the spring may be maintained throughout the metal injecting operation; or to provide a pump comprising two plungers actuated each by an individual spring with means for rendering one or both of the plungers operative at will. In each such instance, however, the mechanism has had to be manually controlled to condition it for the 10 desired mode of operation, and thus the operator has been burdened with the duty of effecting the proper conditioning of the machine.

According to the present invention, automatic means are employed to alter the operation of the pump by a change in the size of mold slot. While applicable to any one of the known mechanisms above referred to, the invention is herein shown as applied to the first mentioned arrangement wherein two springs are provided for actuating a 0 single pump plunger, one spring being adapted to operate alone when casting with the smaller size molds, and both springs being operative simultaneously ,to actuate the plunger under greater pressure for casting with the larger size 5 molds. In controlling the automatic operation of the springs, one is permitted to be active at all times in the usual manner, and a movable stop is provided normally to hold the second spring against operation but which is moved from 30 active position automatically when a large size mold is brought into casting position so as to allow the second spring to become eilective.

In carrying out the invention, an improved mounting for the pump plunger and actuating spring levers is provided, which mounting is adapted to distribute the increased pressure created by the use of the two springs to diiferent parts of the fixed machine frame, and also to permit the arrangement of the springs so that the torque effect of one on the support tends to equalize that of the other during their conjoint operation. Briefly, the support comprises a bracket for supporting the plunger lever which is fixed at one end to a central vertical member of the machine frame, as usual, but has its opposite end extended and fixed to a horizontal side member of the machine frame. One spring is located, as usual, a certain distance to the right of the plunger lever, while the second or additional spring is located at substantially an equal distance to the left of the lever.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely in preferred form and by way of example and as applied to the machine of 55 the class stated, but obviously many changes and variations may be made therein and in its mode of adaptation, which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar .as such limitations are specified in the appended claims;

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of a slug casting machine embodying the invention; v Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig'. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, except that the showing of the first elevator is omitted and some of the parts are broken away;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the mold disc and a de jacent parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, partly broken away, but with some of the parts occupying different positions; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line of Fig. 5.

As shown in Fig. 3, the mold disc A is equipped as usual with four molds A A A A any one of which may be brought into use by adjusting the disc manually about its axis through the medium of the driving pinion A The molds A are representative of the plain unrecessed variety used for casting slugs of from 5 pt. to 10 pt. body size, Whereas the molds A are representative of the larger head-letter or recessed variety which are used mainly in casting display slugs ranging in size say from 36 pt. to 60 pt. The disc A is carried as usual by the mold slide A arranged to impart a fore-and-aft movement thereto for effecting the lockup of the mold with a line of matrices preparatory to the casting operation and which has fixed to it a bracket A carrying guide shoes (not shown) tracking 'on the front and rear faces of the disc A to insure its true running when rotated about its axis.

In Fig. l, the parts are shown in the relative positions they occupy just prior to the commencement of the casting operation. In this condition of the parts, the slotted mold A carried by the rotary disc A, is closed at the front by the composed line of matrices X presented momentarily thereto. by the vertically movable first elevator B, and it is closed at the rear by the mouthpiece C of the melting pot C sustained within the rocking frame or jacket D. The pot C, which contains a supply of type metal maintained in a molten condition by means of a suitable burner (not shown) is formed with a throat'or passage C through which the molten metal is forced into the mold during the casting operation.

The plunger E is connected by means of a rod or link E3 to the free endof a vertically movable lever E which latter is formed at its opposite end with a bearing sleeve E mounted loosely on a. fixed transverse rod E arranged in a bracket F fixed to a central vertical member G of the machine frame, as by bolts F The sleeve F. is provided with two arms E and E the former carrying a roller h which is arranged to track upon the periphery of the usual rotary cam E fast to the main shaft E of the machine, and the latter being extended laterally beneath a further lever E which isalso mounted loosely on the fixed rod E to the rig-ht of the vertical frame member G and has its free end connected to a tension spring E pulling downwardly thereon froma fixed. part of the machine. As well understood, the peripheral face of the cam E is coi1= centric throughout except at one portion of its circumference, where it is cut away or formed with a depression to provide the customary sloping surfaces E and E When the machine is at rest, the roller E is in contact with the concentric portion of the cam 13", so that the plunger E is maintained in its raised or inoperative position, as indicated in Fig. 1. This condition obtains until the metal injecting period arrives, when the cam (rotating in the direction of the arrow) brings its sloping surface E into engagement with the roller E, which then descends along such surface to the bottom of the depression, thus permitting the spring E through the connections described, to depress the plunger E and force a charge of molten metal into the mold. As the cam continues to rotate, the roller 15 is engaged sooner or later by the sloping surface E and the parts thereby restored to and maintained in their original condition to await the next casting operation.

So far as described, the parts, their construction, and mode of operation, except as hereinafter pointed out, are or may be the same as those embodied in the standard commercial machine and in themselves constitute no part of the present invention.

According to the invention, the bracket F is extended, as at F toward the left side of the machine (Fig. 3) and formed at its extreme end with a depending arm F which is securely fastened at its lower end to the horizontal side member G of the fixed machine frame. A second depending arm F is formed on the bracket extension F in parallel with and spaced inwardly from the arm F and each arm is formed with a hole in which a rod E is fixed. A lever E is pivotally mounted on the rod E and has its free end connected by a rod E to a tension spring E pulling downwardly thereon from a fixed part of the machine, the lever E being arranged to the left of the plunger lever E a distance substantially equal to that between the lever E and the spring lever E The plunger lever E is formed about midway of its length with an arm E extending to the left beneath and in supporting engagement with the spring lever E and being bent to have its free end pivoted to the rod E It is through the arm E by its supporting engagement with the lever E", that the spring E is held tensioned by the cam E and also transmits its force in plai'es F and F respectively. The stop H isnormally held in its leftmost position by a tension spring H having one end attached to a pin H on the stop H and the other end secured to an eyelet H fixed to the bracket arm F and is movable horizontally against the tension of spring H to carry a raised portion H thereon out of the path of a lug E formed on the underside of the spring lever E (Fig. 6). Thus, by reciprocating the stop H, the spring E can be rendered active or inactive, as desired, it being rendered active when the stop H is moved to its rightmost position with the raised portion H For the purpose of setting the stop H automatically, the mold disc A is equipped with a block or shoe J fixed, as by screws J adjacent the leading end of each of the large size molds A Each block J is formed with two cam surfaces J and J and an intermediate surface J concentric with the axis of the disc A. When a large mold A is brought into casting position, as shown in Fig. 3, the cam surface J acts through a bell-crank lever K to operate a train of connections and move the stop H to its spring releasing position, the surface J acting to hold the stop in this condition until the lever E has been raised by the cam E following the metal injecting operation, and the cam surface J 3 thereafter allowing the stop to return to its normal spring locking position under the influence of the actuating spring H The cam surface J also serves to prevent interference on the part of the bell-crank lever K in the event that the disc A is rotated in a clockwise direction during the selection of a mold.

The train of connections for operating the stop H comprises a horizontally disposed rock shaft K (Figs. 1, 3 and :5) journalled near its opposite ends in bearings K and K secured to the side member G of the machine frame. At the rear, the shaft K carries an upstanding lever K whose bifurcated free end K receives a pin H projecting from the stop H, while at the front the shaft =has fixed to it a lever arm K arranged substantially at right angles to the lever arm K the free end of the arm K being formed with a flattened upper surface K located beneath and in engagement with the free end of one arm K of the bell-crank lever K before referred to. The bell-crank lever K is pivotally mounted on a stud K secured to a bracket K fixed to the guide shoe bracket A for the mold disc A, as by screws K and the distal ends of its arms K and K are formed each with a rounded boss K which provides an engaging surface to cooperate with the lever K and the blocks J. A pin K arranged in a fixed part of the machine for engagement with the arm K of the bellcrank lever K, is provided as a stop to resist the pull of the spring H and maintain the parts normally in the position shown in Fig. 5.

In operation, when the mold disc A is rotated to bring one of the large molds A into casting position, the cam surface J of the block J is broughtinto engagement with the free end of the arm K of the bell-crank lever K, just before the disc A comes to rest, and rocks the lever K about its stud K to the position shown in Fig. 3. This rocking of the bell-crank lever acts through the lever arm K to rock the shaft K in a clockwise direction, moving the lever arm K and stop H to the right against the pull of the spring H to carry the raised portion H out of the path of the lug E on the spring lever E In this condition of the parts (see Fig. 3), when the roller E tracking on the cam E rides down the inclined surface E of the cam, the spring E acts, as usual, to rock the plunger lever E but now the "spring E 9, acting at the same time through the lever E and arm E supplements the action of the spring E and thus causes the plunger E to inject metal into the mold more rapidly and under greater pressure than if the spring E were acting alone, as for a small mold. When one of the small molds A (which are without the blocks J) is brought into casting position, the stop His allowed-to remain in its normal locking position as shown "in Fig. 5 and henceonly the spring E is allowed to act during the metal .injecting operation.

By mounting the bracket F on the vertical frame member G and its extended portion F on the horizontal side member G the bracket is rigidly supported against twisting, and when the spring E acts either alone or conjointly with the spring E the spring pressure is distributed to different parts of the machine frame. Moreover, the arrangement of the springs E and E at substantially equal distances on opposite sides of the plunger lever E causes the pull of one to offset or balance the torque effect of the other on the bracket F. Hence, the spring arrangement and the bracket anchorage both act to produce a more even running of the roller E on the cam E and so prevent uneven wear of the latter.

It should be noted that although the mold disc A partakes of a fore-and-ait movement before and after the casting operation, this movement is permitted by the free engagement of the arm K of the bell-crank K (which is movable with the disc) with the wide flattened upper surface K of the relatively stationary lever arm K (see Fig. 4). Furthermore, although the disc A partakes of a full counter-clockwise rotation during each casting operation, so that the bell-crank lever K is engaged and actuated twice when two molds A as herein, are mounted on the disc, one of those operations will be entirely idle, since, through the arms E and E the roller E tracking on the cam E maintains both spring levers E and E in their uppermost position and restrains the action of the springs E and E at all times except during the metal injecting period,

at which time, of course, the disc A remains stationary.

As already stated, the invention has been-shown merely by way of example and in preferred form and as applied to a standard machine of the class stated. It is to be understood, however, that there are different forms of the machine, as well as different forms of pump mechanisms, to which the invention is equally well adaptable. Hence, in its broader aspects, the invention is directed to the automatic conditioning of the pump to operate under different amounts of pressure for injecting metal into molds of different sizes according to the size of the mold employed at the time, as well as to the distribution of such pressure to different parts of the machine frame.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into a mold, means for operating the pump, means for conditioning the pump to vary its operative effect in injecting the metal into the mold, and means controlled by a change of mold size for automatically conditioning the pump to correspond.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into a mold, means for operating the pump, means for conditioning the pump to cause it to act under different amounts of pressure, and means controlled by a change of mold size for automatically conditioning the pump to correspond.

3. A combination as in claim 2 characterized by the fact that the automatic conditioning of the pump is dependent upon a change of molds.

4. A combination as in claim 2 characterized by the fact that the automatic conditioning of the pump is controlled. by means associated with the mold employed.

5. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and any selected one of which may be brought intouse as desired, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, means for operating the pump, means for conditioning the pump to vary its operative effect in injecting the metal into the mold, and automatic means controlled by the selected mold for effecting the conditioning of the pump to correspend.

6. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and any selected one of which may be brought into use as desired, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, means for operating the pump, means for conditioning the pump to vary its operative effect in injecting the metal into the mold, and means actuated by a change of molds for controlling said conditioning means.

7. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and any selected one of which may be brought into use as desired, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold,

'means for actuating the pump, means for conditioning the pump to cause it to act under different amounts of pressure for molds of different sizes, and automatic means controlled by the selected mold to condition the pump to correspond.

8. A combination as in claim 7, wherein a plurality of springs are employed for actuating the pump, and wherein one at least of the springs is selectively rendered active or inactive by said automatic conditioning means.

9. In a slug casting machine equipped. with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and any selected one of which may be brought into use as desired, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, means for actuating the pump, the pump being operable under different amounts of pressure for molds of different sizes, and means governed by the selected mold for automatically controlling the amount of pump pressure to correspond.

10. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and any selected one of which may be brought into use as desired, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, a pair of springs for actuating the pump, a movable member associated with one of said springs and acting normally to render it inactive, and means associated with large size molds to actuate said member to render the spring active.

11. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and any selected one of which may be brought into use as desired, the combination of a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, a pair of springs for actuating the pump, and means for rendering one or both of said springs active according to the mold selected.

12. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold disc equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and adjustable to select one or another of the molds as desired, a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, a pair of springs for actuating the pump, and means actuated by the adjustment of the mold disc for causing one or both of said springs to act when the selected mold is brought into casting position.

13. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold disc equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and adjustable to select one or another of the molds as desired, a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, a pair of springs for actuating the pump, a movable member associated with one of the springs and acting normally to render it inactive, and means operative according to the adjustment of the mold disc to actuate said member to render the spring active when the selected mold is brought into casting position.

14. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a mold disc equipped with a plurality of molds for casting slugs of different sizes and adjustable to select one or another of the molds as desired, a metal pot, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold, a pair of springs for actuating the pump, a movable member associated with one of the springs and acting normally to render it inactive, and means carried by the mold disc for causing said member to be actuated to render the spring active when the disc is rotated to bring the selected mold into casting position.

15. In a slug casting machine, the combina tion of a fixed machine frame including a centrally located member and a side member, a metal pct located between said members, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into a mold, said pump including a plunger and a spring actuated lever for operating the plunger, and supporting means in which said plunger lever is pivotally mounted, said supporting means being secured to the central frame member and to the side frame member to distribute the spring pressure exerted on the plunger operating lever equally to both said frame members.

16. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a fixed machine frame including a centrally located member and a side member, a metal pot located between said members, a pump for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into a mold, said pump including a plunger and an actuating lever therefor, spring means acting through a second lever to operate the plunger, a bracket in which said plunger lever is pivotally mounted, said bracket being secured at one end to the vertical frame member and at the other end to the horizontal frame member to distribute the spring pressure exerted on the plunger operating lever equally to both said frame members, and a supporting rod mounted in said bracket and on which both the spring and plunger levers are mounted.

17. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of selectable molds for casting slugs of different sizes, the combination of a fixed machine frame including a vertical central member and a horizontal side member, a metal pct arranged between said members, a pump plunger for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold for casting, said plunger being carried by a lever, a bracket fixed at one end to the vertical member and at the other end to the side member of the frame, a pair of springs located one on each side of the metal pot for actuating said plunger, and an actuating lever connected with each spring, said plunger and spring levers all being pivotally mounted in said bracket and the spring levers being located equidistantly from the plunger lever on opposite sides thereof.

18. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of selectable molds for casting slugs of different sizes, the combination of a fixed machine frame including a vertical central member and a horizontal side member, a metal pot arranged between said members, a pump plunger for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold for casting, said plunger being carried by a lever, a bracket fixed at one end to the vertical member and at the other end to: the side member of the frame, a pair of springs located one on each side of the metal pot for actuating said plunger, an actuating lever connected with each spring, said plunger and spring levers all being pivotally mounted in said bracket and the spring levers being located equidistantly from the plunger lever on opposite sides thereof, and an oifset arm connected with the plunger lever and pivotally mounted at its free end in said bracket, said arm extending in the path of one of said spring levers for operative engagement therewith.

19. In a slug casting machine equipped with a plurality of selectable molds of different sizes carried by a mold wheel rotatable to bring a selected mold into casting position, the combination of a fixed machine frame including a vertical central member and a horizontal side member, a metal pot located between said frame members, a pump including a plunger carried by a lever pivotally mounted in a bracket secured at one end to the vertical frame member and at the other end to the side frame member, said plunger being adapted for forcibly injecting molten metal from the metal pot into the selected mold for casting, a pair of springs connected to the pump lever for actuating the pump plunger, means including a movable stop for rendering one of said springs active or inactive to vary the amount of spring pressure for actuating the pump plunger according to the size of the mold selected, said means normally rendering the spring inactive, and control means carried by the mold wheel and operative through a train of connections to effect the movement of the stop and render said spring active when a large size mold is brought into casting position.

ANTHONY J. STOUGES. 

